Dr. Komarovsky: intestinal infections in children, symptoms, treatment, diet

All food and water consumedpeople, unfortunately, are very far from sterility. Every day and every hour, billions of different bacteria come into our bodies. There is nothing wrong with this, because nature has come up with effective ways to neutralize microbes. "Good" bacteria, saliva with bactericidal properties, poisonous gastric juice do not allow outsiders to get accustomed to the body and destroy it.

But the child's body is very gentle and receptive, so miracles do not always happen to him. Unfortunately, argues Dr. Komarovsky, intestinal infections happen to children with almost the same frequency,as well as ARVI. What should parents do that suspected intestinal infection from their youngster, and are there ways to prevent dangerous infection? We will try to understand this.

Cause of intestinal infection

There is no one person, neverwho has caught an intestinal infection. This is because there are many ways to neutralize a huge number of protective forces of the body: neutralize the acidic acid juice with an alkaline drink, destroy your own microbes with antibiotics, swallow food without chewing it and many others.

They all the same get into the body quite often thesepests, says Dr. Komarovsky. Intestinal infections do not really need an adult, let alone a child. Their main reason was, there is and will be a failure to comply with the simplest hygiene standards: unwashed hands, improper storage of food, flocks of flies between the toilet and the dinner table. No matter how magnificent protective forces the body of a person in general and the baby in particular possessed, there will always be microbes that can not be neutralized.

Intestinal infection in any member of the family - a hugealarm for all others. The patient needs a separate dish, and the rest - often wash their hands, organize an ideal cleanliness, all the dishes should be boiled, not sparing disinfectants.

The main principle of assistance in obtaining an intestinal infection is to make up for loss of salts and fluid as quickly as possible. Go compote from dried fruits, green tea.

Infectious agents

Like many others, intestinal infections in babiescan be viral and bacterial. By their name it can be seen that the difference in the nature of the pathogen. Among the huge number of viral intestinal infections, in children the most common is rotavirus.

In addition, there are still the most common infections in infants: dysentery, enterovirus and salmonellosis.

Each year (according to WHO statistics) about 2 million. children under the age of 5 die from a disease called intestinal infection in children. Komarovsky believes that if all the necessary measures were taken, this figure would be much lower.

Self-medication or the experience of professionals?

But parents should not be frightened and despair. Not the worst thing that can happen to their baby, this one rotavirus intestinal infection. Komarovsky claims that over 90 per cent of all casesdiseases of intestinal infections can be overcome without the use of special medicines. But the remaining 10% are the most insidious and terrible. This is just the case when self-medication can not be used in any case! The most important thing in the current situation is to bring the baby to infectious diseases as soon as possible.

Indication for calling a doctor

Urgent doctor assistance is necessary for the following symptoms in your child:

• in the vomit masses of the baby or his bowel movements there are blood clots;
• the child can not be drunk - he either spits up the water, or can not swallow it;
• there are obvious signs of dehydration - a "dry" tongue, the baby does not piss the last 5-6 hours, there is dry skin and mucous membranes, there is no sweat and tears;
• a rash appeared on the child's body;
• a crumb complains of a headache;
• sharply and greatly increases the body temperature;
• when diarrhea or vomiting, parents can see that the baby's skin is rather pale and greatly shivering.

Signs and symptoms of intestinal infection in babies

All the above signs and symptoms describea situation in which intestinal infection in children (Komarovsky declares this with full responsibility) has already acquired a sufficiently severe or even deadly form. Fortunately, such situations are not frequent.

Most infections are usually expressed by several universal symptoms:

• the baby refuses to eat;
• there is vomiting or diarrhea;
• slightly increases body temperature;
• the baby is drowsy, listless and pale.

Who brings the infection to the body?

Far from all cases, intestinal infection in children is terrible and dangerous. Treatment (Komarovsky is convinced of this from the height of his professional experience) should be timely and accurate.

To causative agents of intestinal infections arebacteria (vibrio cholera, typhoid fever, staphylococcus) and some viruses. They can perfectly reproduce in the intestines and lead to disruption of the digestive process. They also contribute to inflammation of all cells of the intestinal mucosa. The usual and characteristic consequence of these processes is diarrhea as the main symptom in a situation where an acute intestinal infection is observed. Komarovsky explains that initially the very concept of a disease obtained by infection differs. For a person who is not versed in medical terms, diarrhea is a guarantee of the presence of infection in the body. It is not the symptoms themselves that are important for the doctor, but the ways of infection.

Part of the symptoms is not a disease yet

"Any disease in babies transmitted through the mouth(the so-called fecal-oral route of infection) and shows what an intestinal infection is in infants (Komarovsky) .The most obvious example is Botkin's disease, the virus penetrates the gastrointestinal tract, diarrhea is mostly absent, and the liver is affected. do not rely only on diarrhea, because there are also other signs of the disease - pain in the tummy of the baby, high body temperature, nausea and vomiting, no appetite, the child is weak.This signs are quite common, but not always they indicate that, Symptoms, treatment (Komarovsky as a representative of the talented doctors clan is convinced that the result will be much better than before the parents turned to the doctor) should be: the first - well studied, and the second - to be applied according to the prescriptions of the doctor.

Dehydration of the child's body

Only a small part of thethe name "intestinal infection", treatment (Komarovsky as a doctor with many years of experience in this convinced) that does not require reflection, should be conducted with the help of antibiotics. And the rest pass without such intervention, accompanied by the immune system of the baby. After a few days she begins to develop the necessary protection against this disease. The main task of any baby is to last these few days. And the most dangerous risk for this period for the child is the most common dehydration, the doctor says. Komarovsky. Intestinal infections contribute to the fact that with diarrhea or vomiting fluid leaves the body. Therefore, it is so important to renew it.

If mom and dad know exactly how to protect their child's body from dehydration, then their karapuzu is not afraid of any intestinal infection.

Features of treatment of intestinal infection in children: high temperature and antibiotics

Intestinal infection in children - symptoms, treatment(Komarovsky went into detail on this point in his programs), in the event of a situation, they should be first identified and then eliminated with the help of properly prescribed drugs.

It is usually believed that if the baby has a body temperature of about 38^aboutC, then it does not need to be knocked down (the body struggles itself). But according to Dr. Komarovsky, intestinal infections - The thing is dangerous, so you do not need to knock down the temperature.only possible, but necessary. This follows from the fact that the heat removes huge amounts of liquid from the body, and in fact it is especially dehydration for intestinal infection for babies.

Karapuzu (if the body temperature has risen) it is necessary to give an antipyretic agent, so that there is no dehydration and intoxication. You should always give your baby a drink.

Parents, remember: the higher the intestinal infection, the temperature of the baby's body, the more it should be watered!

It has already been said that onlya small percentage of intestinal infections require the use of antimicrobials for cure. And the use of any antibiotics in this case is strictly regulated by WHO.

According to Dr. Komarovsky, an intestinal infectionchildren are dangerous, but not fatal. It is necessary only to adhere to all the recommendations of the doctor and not engage in self-medication. Antibiotics can be used in cases of diarrhea that has lasted for several days, hemocoalitis (when there is an admixture of blood in the vaginal or vomit masses) and in severe forms of cholera. Only in these cases, the use of antibiotics for babies is justified and quite effective.

Treatment of intestinal infection in infants: sorbents

Indeed, there is some reason to applysorbents for intestinal infections of babies. They can absorb poisons, toxins and other harmful substances inside the gastrointestinal tract, relieve from the overabundance of gases. Practitioners of pediatricians are convinced that to some extent sorbents save the child's body from dehydration and intoxication. So far, no one has been able to prove that the use of such means poses threats to the child.

Baby food after getting rid of an intestinal infection

So, what is the diet after an intestinal infection? Komarovsky recalls that during illness the baby had a temporary enzymatic insufficiency. After the illness, it does not last long. This is important to consider when drawing up the baby's menu.

In the first days after the illness it is necessary to restrain the appetite of a recovering child.

Often it happens that afterthe phase of recovery is coming, the condition of the baby is improving, the appetite comes. That's parents (especially grandmothers) and are happy to try - put on the table all yum-yarn - fatter and thicker. But purely physiologically the child's organism is not yet ready for such excesses: he does not yet have enzymes that would digest all this deliciousness.

Do not feed it with "heavy" and fatty foods. It is better to prolong the therapeutic diet, which includes vegetable soups, cereal grains on the water, biscuits, fruit puree. It's only for 5-7 days, until the enzyme activity is restored.

A diet of the child after an intestinal infection must be observed. Komarovsky advises that you can do the same in a different way: some time to give the recovering baby special enzymes. Although many pediatricians believe that an extended diet is better than "feeding" a pharmacy enzyme to a child.

Health to you and your children!